PUKHRĀYĀN, INDIA: The death toll from India’s rail disaster rose to 142 on Monday after workers toiled through the night removing victims from the wreckage, with grim warnings that more bodies were trapped inside. There was little hope of finding survivors among the mangled remains of 14 carriages, which came off the tracks in northern […]

PUKHRĀYĀN, INDIA: The death toll from India’s rail disaster rose to 142 on Monday after workers toiled through the night removing victims from the wreckage, with grim warnings that more bodies were trapped inside.

There was little hope of finding survivors among the mangled remains of 14 carriages, which came off the tracks in northern India on Sunday in a rural district of Uttar Pradesh state.

“The actual toll will still be higher and it would be a difficult task to identify all the persons, particularly those whose bodies are very badly damaged,” a senior local government official said.

“We do not have an exact figure for the injured as of now. Rescue work is still going on,” district police chief Zaki Ahmad said as workers cleared the most severely damaged carriages.

More than 2,000 people are believed to have been on the train, though many were travelling without reserved seats – or without tickets at all – making a precise estimate impossible.

“It is difficult to say how many people were exactly travelling but it was definitely over 2,000,” said a spokesman for regional railway network.

A large crowd gathered at the rescue site on Monday, with many combing through the bags and clothes strewn across the area in the hope of finding clues to the fate of their loved ones.

The prayers were offered at historic Imambara Sibtainabad in the heart of Lucknow will play.

As part of a citizen-driven initiative called ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ (S2S), a joint Shia-Sunni namaz was held in the Imambara lawns to send out the message of universal brotherhood. the The prayer was led by a Sunni cleric in a venue that is often perceived as “a Shia monument”.

“The initiative is significant in light of global sectarian strife, particularly in Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan, where large-scale violence often has roots in sectarianism.”

Shia and Sunni namaz on both Eids is usually held separately in Lucknow. While prominent Shia mosques include the Asafi Masjid in Bada Imambara, the largest Sunni congregation is at Eidgah. According to an estimate, while there are 1.25 lakh Shias in Lucknow, the number of Sunnis is five times higher, reported the Times of India.

The S2S initiative began as a Whatsapp group in the city, which eventually led to the creation of multiple sister groups as the app allows maximum of 100 members. A Facebook event was subsequently created and has gone viral since. An e-invitation to the event has in fact been shared hundreds of times on the social media website.

Mohammad Haider and Atif Hanif, who are part of the core group, said this is an attempt to find common ground, forget artificial differences, and accentuate the similarities between the two sects.

LUCKNOW: An Indian who became an overnight star when an image of a policeman kicking his typewriter went viral has said he is fed up with all the attention -- and just wants to go back to typing letters.

The photograph of the officer harassing Kishan Kumar, who makes a living as a streetside typist in the northern city of Lucknow, provoked an outpouring of sympathy from Indians outraged at his treatment.

Local authorities reacted swiftly, suspending the officer who destroyed his typewriter and promising compensation of 100,000 rupees ($1,500) as well as a new machine.

But Kumar, who is in his 60s but does not know his exact age, said he was “fed up” with his new-found celebrity, which had made it impossible for him to work.

“I just can’t work with so many people surrounding me. I haven’t earned a single penny for the past two days,” he told AFP outside the Lucknow post office, where he plies his trade.

“What will I feed my family if I do not get to earn?… I come here to work, not to give media interviews.”

Although typewriters have largely disappeared from many countries, streetside typists remain a common sight in many Indian cities.

They can be seen hunched over often ancient machines, tapping out affidavits, family title deeds and court applications for around 10 rupees per page.

Kumar said he had received an anonymous threat of violence since the incident on Saturday, while promises of money from well-wishers had failed to materialise.

“I have received a couple of calls from people asking for my bank details… (but) I haven’t received any money from anybody,” he said.